Southeastern Channel TV students named among tops in nation

NATIONAL FINALISTS- The Southeastern Channel’s student news program “Northshore News” was named one of the top three college television newscasts in the country by College Broadcasters, Inc. News team members include, from left, videographer Nick Elliott of Mandeville, General Manager Rick Settoon, reporter/anchor Jessica Leblanc of New Orleans, reporter/anchor Chrissy Carter of Laplace, staff supervisor John Reis, and videographer Douglas Francis of Slidell. The entertainment show “College Night” was also named a national finalist.

HAMMOND – Four Southeastern Louisiana University student-produced television programs have been named finalists in the 2011 College Broadcasters National Student Production Awards competition.The student-produced programs all aired on the Southeastern Channel, the university’s educational cable station operated in cooperation with Charter Communications. The channel airs on Charter Cable Channel 18 in Tangipahoa, St. Tammany and Livingston parishes and on Channel 17 in Washington Parish.The program “Northshore News” took two of the four national finalist spots for “Best Television Newscast,” the only student program to be named a finalist twice in television news categories. “Northshore News” episodes of March 28 and April 20 were honored.Student reporter Jessica LeBlanc of New Orleans was one of four national finalists chosen for “Best News Reporting” for her “Northshore News” story “Tracking Disease Trends with Twitter.” The student entertainment program “College Night” was one of four finalists in the “Best General Entertainment Program” category.The selections were made by College Broadcasters, Inc. from university broadcasters throughout the country. Only four national finalists were chosen for each category. The national winners will be announced at the CBI National Student Media Convention Oct. 25-27 in Orlando.Students participating in “Northshore News” and other award-winning student television programs at Southeastern receive their training in the university’s Electronic Media Concentration in the Department of Languages and Communication degree program.Other student reporters contributing to the newscasts were Chrissy Carter of Laplace, Hunter Robinson of Hahnville, Troylynn Williams of Baton Rouge, Branden Summers of Slidell, Tykesha Robertson of New Orleans, Jarvis Johnson of Baton Rouge, Scott Cardinale of Ponchatoula, and Nanuka Danelia of Georgia, Ukraine. Videographers were Nicholas Elliott of Mandeville, Daron Short of Hammond and Douglas Francis of Slidell. Students contributing to the honored “College Night” episode were hosts Anna de Tiege of Mandeville and Heather Gonzales of Hammond, along with segment producers Joram Roubique of Denham Springs, Sujan Pant of Nepal, Justin Thymes of New Orleans, Wade Parsons of Independence and Nicole Brannigan of Long Beach, CA. “It is a tremendous honor for our television students and their programs to once again be recognized at an elite level of college television in the country,” said Rick Settoon, channel general manager. “Although the program has existed for only four years, it was selected as one of the top three in the country over newscasts at much larger universities.“It’s also a credit to those who train and mentor these students both at the Southeastern Channel and in the Department of Languages and Communication,” he added.The award is the latest one to recognize the news program, which earlier this year was named the top college TV newscast in the South by the Southeast Journalism Conference. The program is supervised by Southeastern Channel staff member John Reis, former producer and anchor of “Northshore News.” “We truly have the perfect combination of classroom curricula and real-world, hands-on experience that makes producing ‘Northshore News’ incredibly rewarding for students,” Reis said. “I enjoy working with students to produce a local news show that offers interesting, timely, relevant and in-depth coverage of local issues that viewers won’t see anywhere else.”